Crimson Wind

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

  “He told you a lot.”

  “He said if it wasn’t for you, they’d have all died.”

  Max shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. They weren’t going down easy.”

  Oak snorted. He was watching them from a few feet away. “Don’t let her fool you. We were toast.”

  Max eyed him balefully. “If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.”

  He tossed her a careless salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Holy mother of fuck. He was going to be as bad as Niko and Tyler. She could tell already.

  “Anyway …..” Tris said, trailing away.

  “Yeah?”

  She squatted down. “Is it as bad as you say?” she asked, her voice hushed. “All that end-of-the-world stuff?”

  “Pretty much. Except the world isn’t exactly ending. It just is going to be a whole lot different.”

  “We’ll really be safe where you’re taking us?”

  “As safe as you can be, given what’s happening. It isn’t good to be an ordinary human right now. But then, you have some witch blood in you, too. Just like Kyle and me.”

  Tris was taken aback. But before she could answer, the door of the RV swung open. Max stood as Alexander stepped out. He chest was bare, his hips wrapped in a towel. His gaze scoured the parking lot until he locked onto Max, taking in her matted hair and her bloody clothes. A shudder ran through him, and he strode to her. She didn’t move. Everything about him smoldered like bottled lightning and her skin felt like she’d catch fire any moment.

  He stopped in front of her. “You are all right?”

  “Sure. Nice to see you upright, though.”

  More than nice. His skin was like satin over his shoulders and his stomach rippled with muscle. She wanted to trace the planes of his body with her tongue and fingers. She closed her eyes and shook herself. Down, girl. Now is definitely not the time. She didn’t need to be the entertainment.

  “What are you doing out here? You should be eating. You were pretty wrecked.”

  “I wanted to see you—to be sure you were all right.”

  “I’m fine. So go get some food.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  She shrugged. “Soon enough. I sent Ivy, Steel, and Flint shopping. For clothes, too, since towels are out this season. But there’s enough inside for you, and you need it. You took some massive healing.” Her expression flattened at the memory.

  “Do not do that,” he said, gripping her arm. “Do not go away from me.”

  “I’m standing right here,” she said. If he kept staring at her that way, she was going to rip away the towel and jump his bones in front of her family and anybody else who happened to walk by.

  “You know what I mean. You withdraw inside and I cannot follow. I hate it.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Slick.” Not yet. But Scooter was waiting. She thrust the outlaw thought away, refusing to think of having to leave Alexander. Not so soon after nearly losing him.

  She couldn’t look away from his lips. He caught his breath.

  “You are killing me,” he muttered.

  “Back at ya, Slick. Go eat. For my sake.”

  He hesitated, then bent and brushed his lips against hers and went back inside.

  That slight touch was enough make her ache. She took a harsh breath and crouched back down to wait.

  No one came near her again until Ivy, Steel, and Flint returned. They pushed and pulled six or seven overloaded carts. It was all stashed inside in less than fifteen minutes.

  “There’s a campground not far from here,” Oak said, holding the directions that Maple had written on a pad of paper. “We can clean up and eat there.”

  “You’ve got the wheel,” Max said, and climbed inside the RV. Alexander sat at the small table. He wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a red button-up shirt. He was eating from a container of ice cream. A dozen power bar wrappers littered the table around him.

  When he saw Max, he shifted so that she had room to sit beside him. She did, grabbing another carton of ice cream from a sack and tearing it open. Before she could take a bite, he offered her a spoonful of his. Meeting the challenge of his look, she wrapped her fingers around his and slowly licked the chocolate-swirl ice cream from the spoon, then ran the tip of her tongue around her lips.

  He made an animal sound deep in his chest and pulled away. “Maybe you should eat your own.”

  She smiled smugly. “I suppose you want me to sit on the other side of the table, too,” she said, starting to stand up.

  He clamped an arm around her, pulling her tight. “Stay put,” he growled.

  They arrived at the campground and Ivy handed Max a comb, towel, soap, shampoo, and clothes. Max glanced at Alexander with her brows raised. It wasn’t—quite—an invitation to join her, but the idea of him naked and wet made her insides clench with want.

  Abruptly she left, jogging to the bathroom.

  She stayed there too long, delighting in the pounding heat of the spray. Ivy had also given her a washcloth, and Max scrubbed away the blood with hard strokes, then washed her hair three times. When she was done, she dressed in jeans and a soft long-sleeved green cotton shirt. She combed her hair and returned to the RV.

  Inside, someone was cooking grilled cheese sandwiches, and Paul and Tris were barbecuing hamburgers on a grill outside. Alexander was sitting on the end of a picnic table. He saw Max and got to his feet, grabbing her hand and pulling her down to the beach. His hand laced with hers as he drew her along with urgent steps. They neared the water, and he turned and kissed her.

  His arms wrapped around her and he lifted her against him. She locked her legs around his waist. His kiss was desperate and deep. His lips slanted over hers, his tongue delving inside her mouth as he tasted her. After a few minutes, his touch gentled. He nibbled her lips and sucked lightly on her tongue as she moaned and slid her fingers over his scalp, dragging him closer.

  His touch was scorching and turned Max’s insides to liquid gold. She rubbed herself against him and jolts of pleasure flared through her body. He pulled away, nipping at her lips and kissing down the sensitive column of her neck. One hand slid up under her shirt to cup her breast. His thumb rubbed the nipple. She moaned as indescribable pleasure spiraled through her. He caught the sound in his mouth, kissing her again.

  He set her down on her feet, pulling her shirt up. His lips fastened on her breast, where his thumb had caressed. He sucked and she felt the pull deep inside. Hot red embers swirled inside her and her legs trembled. She gripped his shoulders, then slid her hands down his back to knead his ass as he flicked her nipples with his tongue, first one, then the other. He groaned as she slid one hand around to cup his stiff length through his pants. It felt hard as iron. She squeezed and he thrust against her, then lifted his head and kissed her again, jerking her tight against his chest as his tongue twined wetly with hers.

  She ran her hands up his back beneath his shirt, discovering the silky play of his muscles beneath his skin, grinding her hips against his as she did. He made a guttural sound in his throat. Her hands drifted lower beneath the waistband of his pants. She rubbed the firm, round contour of his ass beneath his loose-fitting jeans.

  He leaned back and stripped away her shirt before she could protest. Not that she would have. Her head spun, and she wanted him so much she thought she might explode if he didn’t get down to business soon. He grabbed her hands, held them behind her back, and went back to licking and sucking her breasts, kissing searing trails up her neck and back down. Her nipples were so hard they might have cut diamonds.

  She twisted to get away, wanting to tear off his clothes.

  “You fucking tease,” she groaned when he tightened his grip and laughed, then gently bit a nipple. She gasped and sagged against him as her body went up in flames.

  He licked the edge of her ear. “I am not going to be a one-night stand you cannot remember the next day. You are never going to want to give me up,” he murmured, then moved to her mouth again, k
issing her with breathless hunger.

  “Max!”

  It was Ivy. Her urgent voice was a bucket of cold water. It barely cooled Max’s heated flesh.

  “Max! You’ve got to come on. There’s a tsunami warning. We have to go.”

  “Of course there is,” Max muttered. “Why wouldn’t there be?” Then, “Coming!” Didn’t she just wish.

  Alexander had let go of her hands and settled his on her hips. He was panting, his chest rising and falling as if he’d been running a marathon. He slid his palms up her sides and rested them against the curves of her breasts.

  “I think I might want to risk the tsunami,” he said in a hoarse voice.

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  “But I want to tempt you. If we get back and you push me away, I might jump off a cliff.” There was no hint of humor in his voice.

  “I won’t push you away, Slick. I’m staking a claim.”

  She stood on tiptoe, leaning in and biting his neck until she tasted blood. He sucked in a breath, his hands returning to her hips and yanking her against him, rubbing his hard length into her crotch.

  “You had better not change your mind,” he said, and abruptly let her go, reaching down to pick up her shirt.

  He shook off the sand and slid it over her head, kissing both breasts and thumbing her nipples once more before pulling it down.

  She shuddered. “Not fair. You do not play fair.”

  “Who is playing?”

  He grabbed her hand and kissed it, then started back toward the picnic area. Now Max noticed the wail of the tsunami sirens. The Guardians were really striking hard.

  By the time they got back, everyone was already loaded. Oak was at the wheel of the RV.

  Max climbed inside. Alexander had let go of her hand as they left the beach, and she missed his touch instantly. This was all the time they had. When they got back, she had a promise to keep to Scooter.

  She sat and ate, her body still feverish from Alexander’s touch. She didn’t look at him, keeping her distance. She couldn’t trust herself. By sunrise, they would near Horngate, and they were trapped in a vehicle with a half dozen other people, at least four of them with supersonic hearing. She wasn’t going to have a screaming good time on a tiny cot while they listened in. She wasn’t that much of an exhibitionist.

  She ate randomly, stuffing herself with whatever came to hand. But eventually she was full. She looked at Alexander. She could no longer resist. He stood and held out his hand.

  “Come on.”

  Her body still throbbed. She shook her head. “Not my style, Slick. I can’t.”

  “I am not asking. Trust me.”

  She went because she couldn’t say no. She didn’t want to. For thirty years she’d done little but deny herself, and now that she was looking at an uncertain future with Scooter, she wanted to snatch a little happiness for herself.

  He led them into the rear of the RV and resealed the wards, then led her back to his room. He shut the door and sat on the edge of the bed, still holding her hand.

  “Sleep with me,” he said. “Just that. Nothing more.”

  She wondered if he remembered exactly what she owed Scooter. That when they got to Horngate, everything was over. At least until Scooter was done with her, and she wasn’t any too sure he ever would be. She didn’t remind him. Their time was too precious to shatter with reality.

  She lay down beside him. He turned on his side, pulling her against him. One hand came up to cover her breast. He kissed the back of her neck.

  “If you start that, I won’t be able to stop,” she warned him.

  She felt his lips curve. “Is that so bad?”

  “I don’t like an audience.”

  “Neither do I.”

  With that, he settled, his breath soft and warm on her shoulder as they drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 19

  MAX WAS WRONG ABOUT HOW LONG IT WOULD take to get to Horngate. So many people were fleeing from the tsunami and the eruption of Mount Shasta that the roads and the gas stations were choked. It was sunrise when they made it up the gorge to Kennewick and just an hour before dawn when they drove into Horngate.

  The closer they got, the more uneasy and short-tempered Max became. She could hardly look at Alexander, and it was obvious it infuriated him. She was pushing him away, exactly as she had promised not to do. But she didn’t know what else to do with herself. She felt a little like she was drowning. It wasn’t fair to him. She knew it. But the thought of leaving him hurt worse than anything else she’d experienced in her life. She couldn’t handle it. Not without pulling away inside herself. And every mile closer to Horngate made her ache more.

  She sat in the passenger seat, her knees to her chest, her arms wrapping them tightly. Alexander sat on the couch, watching her from beneath heavy-lidded eyes, his Blade balancing on the killing edge. The magic of his Prime filled the vehicle with an aura of choking power. Her own was wild and menacing. She felt trapped between her feelings for him and her promise to Scooter, and her Blade was raging against it.

  They made everyone else twitchy. Oak drove with one eye on Max, his ears clearly straining for sounds of Alexander. His shoulders were stiff and he frequently veered over the rumble strip in his distraction. No one else wanted to be anywhere near them.

  They reached Missoula all too soon, and Max realized that she was nearly out of time to say something to Alexander before they got to Horngate and Scooter claimed her. She fought for words, but her mind was frozen.

  She had still not found any words when they wound up the road to Horngate and pulled to a stop in the parking area at the base of the mountain. Time was up. She stood and looked at him. He stared back, waiting. The message was clear. He’d made enough first moves. Now it was her turn. She couldn’t. She went to the door and stepped out.

  The first thing she noticed was the gray minivan. That meant the refugees from Weed had made it. That was good news.

  “Max!” came Niko’s sudden shout, and then he was beside her, grabbing her in a rib-cracking hug. “We thought something happened to you,” he said, swinging her around before setting her on her feet.

  “I’m not that easy to kill,” she said. “You should know that by now.”

  He frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s been a long trip. I’ll tell you about it. But first, let’s get unloaded.”

  He glanced up behind her. “Alexander. Good to see you back.” He sounded like he meant it. That was good news, too. They were going to need each other soon. His gaze sharpened. “And these others?” Alexander had stepped down, and Oak filled the doorway. Niko tensed.

  “He’s okay,” Max told him. “My family is with us, plus two witches—no, make that four,” she said, her mouth twisting. She had not spoken with her father or Kyle since they’d helped to heal Alexander. She didn’t know anymore what to say to them than she did to him. “There’s also three Sunspears and four Shadowblades. A few others.”

  “Hitchhikers?” Tyler asked as he came up behind her. He eyed Oak warily.

  “Something like that.”

  The cars opened and slowly emptied out. Her traveling companions gathered around Max, hemmed in by a wall of Horngate’s Shadowblades and Spears. Oz came out of the main entrance with Giselle, Tutresiel and Xaphan flanking them. They started down the hill eagerly. Max waved.

  There were gasps as the others caught sight of the angels. Max rubbed her arm where Scooter had marked her with his magic. How much time did she have left? She doubted he was going to wait very long.

  “What’s got you so uptight?” Niko asked. “Your Blades are raging. Both of you.” He looked from Max to Alexander and back, frowning.

  “It’s been a tough week,” Max said vaguely.

  Alexander’s unrelenting silence was getting to her. Damn, but she was a coward and an idiot. How could she have told him she wouldn’t push him away and then done exactly that? How stupid was it to waste the few hours she had with him?


  A flare of white heat along her arm warned Max. She reacted on instinct, spinning around. She caught Alexander’s bitter gaze. “I’m sorry. I really did mean every word,” she told him. “It hurt too much knowing what was coming.” Weak excuse, she knew.

  She didn’t see his reaction. Magic flared in a brilliant borealis. Streamers of blue and white wound through the night. The air and ground shook as a hole in the world opened up and Scooter stepped right through. His smooth skin was coppery, his blue-black hair a shimmering curtain around his shoulders. Surprisingly, he wasn’t entirely naked. His bottom half was clothed in red buckskin, and he wore a red vest. His black eyes spun with flecks of blue. Magic coiled around him in sensuous ribbons.

  “It’s time,” he told Max. “I have waited. I will wait no more.”

  He held out his hand. Max looked at it. She could not refuse; he would not let her. Besides, a promise was a promise. She stepped forward, then hesitated, looking at Giselle. The witch stood frozen, her mouth drawn flat. She wasn’t going to try to stop Scooter. Not that she could.

  “Trust Alexander,” Max said. “If I don’t come back, make him your Prime.”

  Her glance flicked to Tutresiel. “Thanks for the gift. It came in handy. Maybe one day I’ll pay you back.”

  He scowled, his silver wings lifting wide in what could have been anger.

  She looked at Oz, then Niko and Tyler, and lastly Alexander. A knot filled her throat. For all of them, for finally figuring out what mattered and having to walk away from it. There ought to have been something profound to say, but she could only think of Jim’s final words.

  “See you when I see you.”

  She put her hand in Scooter’s. Lightning ran up her arm and crackled through her body. The ribbons of his magic curled around her, binding her tight. Cold washed over her as the hole opened again. A black plain stretched before her, filled with crisscrossing strands of rainbow magic.

  The last thing Max heard as she stepped into the web between worlds was Alexander shouting her name.